Pedisic, Zeljko ORCID: 0000-0003-2886-3556, Rakovac, Marija ORCID: 0000-0003-0098-4938, Podnar, Hrvoje ORCID: 0000-0003-1719-6970 and Radman, Ivan ORCID: 0000-0002-5358-3591 (2022) Promotion of health-enhancing sports activities through European and international umbrella sports organisations: four examples of good practice. In: Sports Club for Health (SCforH) movement in the European Union. Pedisic, Z, ed. Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia, pp. 154-177.

Abstract

The European Federation for Company Sport (EFCS), European Non-Governmental Sports Organisation (ENGSO), International Sport and Culture Association (ISCA), and The Association For International Sport for All (TAFISA) are international sports associations that play an important role in the European sports sector, particularly in the promotion of "sport for all". In this book chapter we presented and analysed interviews conducted with representatives of EFCS, ENGSO, ISCA, and TAFISA about their commitment and activities to promote health-enhancing physical activity and the Sports Club for Health (SCforH) approach. We conducted interviews with the representatives of these organisations using a structured questionnaire including open-ended and multiple choice questions. We found that the commitment of all four organisations to the promotion of health-enhancing physical activity was substantially higher than their commitment to the promotion of elite sports. Some of the actions these organisations have taken to promote health-enhancing physical activity include: advocating for "sport for all" among policymakers; providing tools, expert knowledge, and other resources to their member organisations; and organising events for their members and wider public. Their main obstacles for the promotion of health-enhancing physical activity were limited funding, shortage of personnel, and lack of awareness of the importance of physical activity and healthy lifestyle among potential partners. All the organisations assisted in the dissemination of SCforH guidelines by sharing the news about them through their newsletters, distributing the printed book of guidelines among their members, and organising workshops and presentations about the guidelines. The representatives of the European and international umbrella organisations suggested that the guidelines could be improved by including more practical "how-to" examples, shortening the descriptions, using lay language, describing real-world experiences with their implementation, and including examples of good practice from sports clubs and associations. In the latest international SCforH project, we addressed these suggestions by publishing a textbook with SCforH guidelines presented in lay language and by creating a database of examples of good SCforH practice. The activities of EFCS, ENGSO, ISCA, and TAF-ISA described in this book chapter may inspire and help sports associations at all levels to focus more on the promotion of health-enhancing physical activity and adoption of the SCforH approach.

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